Review #32: The Parent Trap

Release Date: July 29th, 1998
Writer: Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer
Director: Nancy Meyers

Logline: Identical twins, seperated at birth and each raised by one of their biological parents, discover each other for the first time at summer camp and make a plan to bring their wayward parents back together. (Source: IMDb) 127 min. Family, Comedy.
Bechdel Test: Passed all 3 tests

Review

There’s absolutely no way I can do an unbiased review of this movie. I’ve been obsessed with it for 16 years and am confident that I will continue to be obsessed with it for the rest of my life. So instead of a review, I am going to tell you how this film has impacted me.

I present: A Life Molded by Nancy Meyers’ The Parent Trap.

• I will fight anyone who denies that Lindsay Lohan is the greatest actress of our time

• I own the soundtrack to this movie and still listen to it on a regular basis

• If I have twins, their names will 100% be Hallie and Annie. Even if they're boys.

• I thought the Beatles’ Abbey Road picture was a rip off from this movie for an embarrassingly long time

• I try to say “I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea” as much as possible

• I tried oreos and peanut butter

• I know that the only way to know if it’s true love is if L-O-V-E is playing in the background

• I dream of the day I get a powder blue suit

• I learned the handshake

• I went ahead and changed my friend Jessie’s name to Chessy

• I’m still convinced I’m going to find the love of my life on a boat

• I’ve always been upset that my birthday is in August and not on October 11

• I know that you have to pause in life to make mental memories

• When I grow up, I want to be Elizabeth James

• I know that sometimes you do just have to cry hysterically
• I'm always wondering why we aren't talking about Dennis Quaid more

• I believe the greatest word in the English language is "actually"

• I only say "a lot, a lot, a lot" in a British accent

Are there a lot of plot holes in this movie? Yes.
Is it realistic? Not even a little.
Is my appreciation for it clouded by nostalgia? Probably.

Nevertheless, this movie is pure joy from start to finish. It's got practical jokes, summer camp and the greatest love story of the century. What more could you possibly want?
Watch it right now!

Portrayal of Women: The cast of this movie is made up of mostly women and each one is unique and well defined. We have Elizabeth James, the elegant entrepreneur, Meredith Blake, the glamorous villain, and Chessy, the humble housekeeper. There are no duplications of character and each one has an important purpose in terms of plot. They are in no way placeholders - they are integral to the overall story and theme.

Then we have the twins, Hallie and Annie. Hallie is a little rough around the edges while Annie is always perfectly put together. They're smart and witty and brave. What I like about them is that although they're the coolest 11 year olds around, neither of them is perfect and they both make mistakes. They're well-rounded and fairly realistic characters in a totally unrealistic story.

Overall, the film is a great example of how to increase female representation in a film as well as how to positively display friendships between girls. 

Sisterhood Moment: The movie is basically 127 minutes of sisterhood moments. If I had to pick just one, I would pick the ear piercing scene. Complete terror.

Rating: 5 pics of Leo DiCaprio plus all the yellow headbands.

IMDb - The Parent Trap (6.3)
Wikipedia - The Parent Trap
Rotten Tomatoes - The Parent Trap (86%)